Kostitsyn, Predators continue streaking with victory at San Jose

Saturday, January 8, 2011 at 10:34pm

Staff reports

Sergei Kostitsyn became the sixth player in franchise history to score in five consecutive games as the Nashville Predators extended their current win streak to five with a 2-1 victory over the San Jose Sharks on Saturday at HP Pavilion.

Kostitsyn banged home the rebound of a Patric Hornqivst shot for the game-winner at 6:23 of the third period.

It was just the third Predators’ victory in their last 13 visits to the Sharks’ building.

Kostitsyn, a 23-year-old forward, moved within one of the Nashville record for goal scoring streaks shared by Alexander Radulov and J-P Dumont, who each scored in six straight in 2007-08. Sergei Krivokrasov (1998-99), Greg Johnson (1998-99) and Steve Sullivan (2005-06) all had five-game streaks.

Kostitsyn also extended his current points streak to six games (he has five goals and four assists over that stretch) and became the team’s second-leading goal scorer for the season. He closed within two of Hornqvist, who has 13.

Nashville’s first goal similarly came on a rebound chance. David Legwand gave the Predators a 1-0 first-period lead when he cleaned up after his own initial shot.

While Nashville occasionally took two shots at a time against San Jose goalie Antti Niemi, it was the Sharks who had a decisive edge in shots (43-26) for the game. San Jose outshot the Predators in every period — 18-12 in the first period, 11-6 in the second and 14-8 in the third.

Goalie Pekka Rinne made a season-high 42 saves and earned the victory. The only puck that got by him was a shot from the left wing by San Jose rookie Logan Couture, which went in just under the crossbar to Rinne’s glove side.